Hm...14 reviews this chapter...impressive. I'm stunned. But anyhow...on to the replies!
Daniel Wesley Rydell: ...Shadow. I shall maim you.
Auron's Fan: Yes, best that you don't, lest your brain implode on itself. Anyhow.
XxCougarxX: Good eye...yes, that was intentional.
Iron Reaver: Because Darius is arrogant, whereas Drante is just...cool. So he can do that sort of thing. Oh, almost forgot. utterly annhilates you Let's have no more ill mannered speculations, hm?
OCAdam: ...For the most part, I'm thinking I forgot to welcome you because of forgetting that question a chapter or 2 back. But, anyhow, a belated welcome to you, Adam! Lol.No, I don't think I caught the e-mail thing this time, either. And finally, I don't live near Houston. I live in South Carolina.
Arachnid: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, Arachnid! This one will stay, for the most part, on track, but there will be quite a few things that don't quite go as planned...
MoombaRave: Nah, I'll let you stew in the wonderful juices of speculation for a bit. Hehe...
Vergil: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, Vergil! Sorry, Hao (I think...) won't be in the story, strictly the X-2 characters, and a few others.
SS5Matt: You have no idea. (grin)
desert-tiger: Nah. I don't feel stupid. As for the two you're referring to...I'll say nothing.
rikku yuna allover: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, RYA! I'm glad you like my style, I pride myself more on my style of writing than anything else, as I have been striving to write with increasing clarity, style, and description.
asuka-kazama-mishima: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, AKM! Glad to see another reader. And yes, my name is Benji, but most of those who know me outside of family simply call me Ben for short. And thanks for the gesture of good luck. You too.
Fallenone: Indeed. Hm...you're right on the opponent thing. Paine and I would be a pretty interesting fight, as you have a few valid points there. As for how many respect points I have...I have no clue. (shrug)
Fallen Angel-2009: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, Fallen Angel! It will probably be at least as long as Destiny's Call, around 40-45 chapters, if not in the low 50s. I'm not sure as of yet. Hope you continue reading.
And now, on to the Zanarkand Ruins!
Chapter 5—Memories Of Ages Past
"So, where to now?" Buddy asks us, as we step back onto the bridge.
"Zanarkand Ruins. You said the other treasure sphere was there, right?" Yuna asks, stepping over to the pilot.
"Right. We'll be there soon," Buddy replies, the Celsius lifting off and beginning to fly towards the ruins. Looking around for a moment, I turn and walk out of the bridge, headed back to my room. As I enter the room, I take a moment to pull my guns out of the holsters, setting them on a table near me before I flop backwards on the bed.
"So...who are these two new guys..." I mutter, thinking out loud. "We've got one guy who fights like he's out to kill you every time, and then another that fights like it's all a game...strange. And they both hunt spheres...probably be seeing them again. But what's their angle? Motive? They don't seem to be after anything in particular except for spheres..." Standing up, I walk around the room for a moment, pacing, before sitting back down.
"Ah, I don't know...maybe I'll find out. Maybe they'll tell if I ask them..." I mutter, immediately shaking my head. "Yeah. Sure. And maybe monkeys will fall from the sky if I stare at it hard enough." Sighing, I lie back on the bed, placing my hands under my head, and stretch. Today has been far more confusing than I care to admit.
A few minutes later, the intercom comes on, Buddy's voice telling everyone that we're about to arrive at the ruins. Standing up, I re-holster my pistols and walk out of the room, seeing Yuna walking out of her room as well.
"Been a while since we've been here, hasn't it?" I ask, and she nods.
"Yeah...it has."
"Only difference is, we're not going to the ruins to tear down the foundations of a completely false religion, beat some crazy unsent summoner from a thousand years past, and destroy something the size of a small island," I say, chuckling a little. Yuna laughs at my strange sense of humor. "Yeah. Sounds perfectly normal now...right..." I mutter, shaking my head as we walk into the bridge, to see Rikku and Paine.
"Let's go. We've got a sphere to find!" Yuna says, and Rikku and Paine nod, beginning to follow Yuna and Iout of the Celsius.
Stepping out onto the ground of the Zanarkand Ruins, the first thing we see...is people. The area has people walking around, smiling, and heading deeper into the ruins. On top of a hill, a lone figure stands, and Yuna starts towards him, seemingly knowing who it is. The man turns around at the sound of footsteps approaching him, and smiles.
"Yuna?" he asks, to which the former summoner nods. "You've changed so much, I hardly recognize you. Remember me?"
"Of course I remember!" she says, clasping her hands behind her back and smiling. "It's good to see you again, Isaaru."
"I'm honored that you remember me," Isaaru replies.
"Why are you here?" Yuna asks, as Isaaru steps down and looks out over Zanarkand.
"Ah, yes. I've been helping Cid with his work." At the mention of Cid, all eyes turn to Rikku, who simply shrugs.
"Don't look at me."
"I guide people through Zanarkand, once the most sacred of places," Isaaru continues. "People come from all over Spira. Sphere hunters, too."
"Oh," Yuna says simply.
"Ugh!" Rikku exclaims, throwing her hands up. "What the heck is Pop thinking?"
"I can see this is upsetting you," Isaaru says, turning to Rikku. "But this is a place of great historical importance to all of Spira."
"I know. But, still...I never wanted anyone else to stand there," Yuna says, staring at the hill. Isaaru follows her gaze, but looks confused.
"Yuna?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
"If you say so..." Isaaru starts, then stops. "Ah, I must be getting to work now. Please, take care, Yuna," he says, before walking off towards the dome.
"Well?" I ask, turning to the others. "What now?"
"We go find the sphere," Paine states, beginning to walk towards the dome. Nodding quickly, I begin to follow the black-clad girl along the path leading to the ruined blitzball stadium.
As we come upon the entrance to the ruined stadium, the first thing we see is a trio of young kids, probably no more than 9 or 10 years old each, talking amongst themselves. As we step closer, we can hear bits of the conversation.
"Taro, Hana, you ready?" one of the kids says, apparently the leader of the group.
"Um...what was the clue again?" another says, looking at the leading boy.
"Come on! It's 'key'!" a young girl says, looking at the boy who asked.
"All right, let's head out!" the leader says, the other two nodding.
"Yes, sir!" they say, before all three of the kids run inside the destroyed dome.
"What was that all about?" Rikku asks, and I turn to face her.
"They said clue. My guess is a treasure hunt. Let's go find out for ourselves," I answer, running inside the dome.
As we enter the dome, I'm not surprised to see it much the same as it was the last time I was here. Except this time, it's more of a cheerful trip.
'And another thing that hasn't changed is the fiend population, I see...' I think, as a duo of White Elementals float towards us, accompanied by a strange looking snake, with a gatling gun barrel for a head. 'A Recoil, I think...all those things look alike.'
"Fire, everyone!" Yuna yells, shifting into the Black Mage dressphere, Rikku and Paine staying in Thief and Warrior, respectively. Quickly, I shift into the Black Mage dressphere as well, and Yuna and I point our staves at the first Elemental.
"Fire!" we cry, and a duo of Fire spells slam into the Elemental, causing it to float backwards for a moment before stopping. The second looks at Yuna, before casting a Blizzard spell on her, sending her a step back. The Recoil looks at Rikku and Paine, and fires, bullets hitting them and doing some damage. Rikku looks mad now, and runs up to the Recoil, driving both daggers into the thing's 'face', causing it to jerk back in pain. Paine runs in now, and cuts upwards, a large gash appearing in the creature's body. It fires again, Paine stepping back, as the Elemental that Yuna and I hit faces me. Firing off a Blizzard spell, it connects with me and causes me to flinch in pain, before I retaliate.
Another Fire spell blows this Elemental apart into pyreflies, and Yuna casts a Fire spell on the remaining one. As it recoils back from the blow, Rikku slashes at the Recoil again, causing it to writhe in pain before bursting into pyreflies. The Elemental prepares a spell, but is a little too slow to react. A duo of Fire spells blows this Elemental apart as well, and we all take a moment to catch our breath. Quickly shifting back into Gunner, I sigh, leaning against a piece of wall.
"And to think, those 3 kids went in here alone," Paine says, shaking her head.
"I think they'll be fine. If this place really has turned into some sort of tourist attraction, they won't let anyone get hurt," I reply, beginning to walk down the path again. A minute later, we come upon the same three kids, stopped along the path. They seem to be talking to each other again, but they stop and look up once they see us approach.
"Lady Yuna!" the leading kid says, looking up at Yuna. "Do you remember me?"
"Sure I do!" she says, smiling back at him. "You're Pacce." Mentally slapping myself for not remembering the kid, I smile as the kid jumps into the air happily.
"You remembered me!" he says, before pointing to his two friends. "This is Hana, and this is Taro," he says, pointing to the girl, and then the boy.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Yuna," Taro says.
"What are you doing here?" Yuna asks, seemingly concerned for the kids. "There are fiends around!"
"Fiends? Ha!" Hana says, standing up straight.
"Uh-huh! That's right! We're sphere hunters!" Pacce says, grinning from ear to ear.
"The Kinderguardians!" Pacce and Hana say, posing quickly. Taro seems to be a little behind them, but poses anyway.
"The Kinderguardians!" I can see Paine shaking her head, somewhere in between amused and exasperated. I just chuckle softly, continuing to watch silently.
"You here on some kind of treasure hunt?" Rikku asks, turning to the trio. Pacce nods, and Yuna looks up, seemingly in thought.
"So 'key' must be a clue to finding the treasure," she says, looking back at them.
"Uh-huh. That's right!" Pacce agrees, before Hana shushes him.
"Shh! We paid fifteen whole Gil for that! Come on, let's go!" she tells Pacce, as she and Taro run ahead.
"See ya, Lady Yuna!" Pacce says, running after his friends.
"Fifteen Gil for a clue?" Paine asks, and I shrug.
"Don't look at me," I reply, Yuna beginning to lead us all along the path again. The path curves upwards now, and as we turn a rising curve, we come across one of Leblanc's goons, apparently talking on a comlink. Thinking quickly, I suddenly get a grin on my face. Motioning to the others to be quiet, I start sneaking up behind the goon.
"Come in. Come in. Do you read me?" he says, apparently not getting an answer for a moment. "Oh, hey. I wanted to double-check that clue. It's 'mon', right? Nah, it's just that I heard some kids saying it was 'key.' Yeah, I figured it was 'mon.' Over and out." By the time he finishes speaking, I've stepped right behind him. Smiling evilly the entire time, I tap him on the shoulder. As he turns around, I bring my arm back to punch.
"Stealth attack!" I yell, punching the goon right in the face...and unfortunately for him, he goes stumbling back, right over the edge of the walkway. A sharp yell is heard, and then a thud, as the goon hits the floor below. Walking over and peering over the side, I chuckle, seeing him flat on his back on the level below. Turning back to the others, I see everyone staring at me like I'm insane. Rikku is the first to say something.
"You...yelled...the words 'stealth attack'..." she stammers, and I chuckle.
"Yeah. I know, it's a paradox. But it's funny." As if I had done nothing out of the ordinary, I walk towards the entrance to the Cloister of Trials, a stupefied Rikku following along with Yuna and Paine, who are shaking their heads at my antics.
"This place hasn't changed any," I say as we walk into what used to be the Cloister of Trials. The puzzles that used to be here are no more, apparently ceasing to function when the fayth quit dreaming. So, we simply walk through. Stepping out into the Chamber of the Fayth, and then to the platform where we fought Yunalesca 2 years ago, we're suddenly confronted by a voice, cutting through the silence of the open air.
"Muahahahaha!"
"Who's there?" Rikku asks, all of us immediately on edge from the laughter.
"You have done well to make it this far, sphere hunters. But you will not have the treasure you seek so easily," the voice says, and Paine stiffens, looking around.
"So we fight," she says, reaching for her sword. Yuna stops her, though, apparently because we haven't seen anyone or anything yet.
"If you want the treasure, you must speak the password!" the voice says, and Paine's expression goes to one of confusion.
"Password?"
"The clues?" Yuna asks, Rikku being the first to piece the puzzle together.
"Oh, I know! The password is monkey!" The voice seems a little flustered now, since Rikku spoke the password.
"Uh...yes, good. Uh, okay! So now, tell me, what is the meaning of life?"
"What?" Yuna asks, completely caught off guard by the question. Suddenly, something seems to click in her mind, and she looks around. "Is that you, Isaaru? Isaaru?"
"Hey. That does sort of sound like Isaaru," Rikku adds, looking around.
"...Is that your final answer?" the voice asks again, and Rikku clenches her fists, closing her eyes and looking down.
"The jig is up! Show yourself, Isaaru!"
"Uh...fine," he says, and suddenly, Isaaru walks up behind us, causing us all to turn and face him.
"Um, what are you doing?" Yuna asks after a moment.
"My job," he replies. "I bring excitement to those who've come to see this sacred place. I, too, once traveled with the hope of seeing this place someday. Working here somehow fulfills that wish."
"Believe me, Isaaru, if you had gone through what we did, you wouldn't have wanted to see this place 2 years ago," I say, chuckling a little at the memory of Lady Yunalesca.
"I see. I must apologize for the quiz. Here's something for your trouble," he says, handing Yuna a Garment Grid. Yuna smiles, nodding, as Isaaru gives a short wave.
"'Kay! Thanks for coming! And remember, the ruins of Zanarkand will be waiting!" he says dramatically, before walking back to wherever he came from.
"Ex-summoners come in all flavors," Paine says, lookinga little uninterested. Yuna just giggles.
"Apparently so."
"We done here?" Rikku says, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Relax. We've still got a sphere to find, right?" I say, to which Yuna nods.
"Let's go, then!" she says, before walking down the stairs at the back of the platform. As we descend the stairs, they take us to a small set of catacombs under the ruins, it seems. Suddenly, a roar breaks the silence, and we dash around a corner to come face to face with a monster, the Guardian Beast. But that's not all. My eyes nearly pop out of my head at the sight of the second thing there.
'Lenne...? But...there's no way...' I think to myself, before taking another look at the individual. 'Wait...that's not Lenne. She's older than this girl...'
The girl in question is a young girl, around 14 or so it seems, and garbed in the Songstress dressphere. She, for the most part, looks exactly like Yuna would in the Songstress sphere, with the exception of a pair of long, dangling, multicolored earrings, and longer brown hair, reaching down past her shoulders slightly. She's also desperately trying to fight off the Guardian Beast, the telltale blind effect of the Darkness Dance ability lingering over the creature's eyes.
"Think we need a password?" Rikku asks, nervously.
"How about 'kick...its...ass.'" Paine replies, face impassive as stone.
(Play FFX-2 theme YuRiPa Battle 2)
"Let's help her!" Yuna exclaims, running into the fray and immediately using Trigger Happy on the beast, causing a few grunts of pain as the bullets impact. Growling, I spherechange to Warrior quickly, and pull my sword out, the blue metal glinting in the dim light of the catacombs. Paine does the same, charging the beast with a roar.
"Flametongue!" she yells, her blade bursting into a magical fire as she slashes upwards, cutting a gash into the creature's flank.
"Ice Brand!" I cry, my sword being engulfed in magical frost as I slash down, cutting across the creature's chest. The Guardian Beast roars in pain, before slashing at all of us, throwing Paine and I away, Yuna, Rikku, and the girl dodging quickly.
"Take this!" Yuna yells, as her pistol glows for a moment, a bullet slamming into the creature and seeming to deal more damage than normal. Rikku also runs up and slashes quickly across the open cuts left by Paine and I, before retreating. The girl has quit dancing now, the blinding effect wearing off, and she kneels for a moment, before starting to dance again, the darkness afflicting the beast once again. Sheathing my sword, I step back, spherechanging into Black Mage, before pointing the staff at the Guardian Beast.
"Blizzard!" The magical ice attack hits the Beast, but doesn't seem to injure it much. It roars and slashes outwards, but misses as I duck out of the way. Yuna snaps off another pair of shots at the creature, and Paine runs back in, using another Flametongue attack on it. It growls and swats at Paine, which barely connects, not enough to do any real damage. Rikku slashes across the creature's neck, Yuna aiming up there as well with a Trigger Happy attack, as I point my staff upwards.
"Thunder!" The lightning bolt strikes the Guardian Beast in the top of the head, and it growls, before charging at me. The thing slams into me, throwing me back to the ground, and I shake the dizziness from my head, seeing Paine slash at the creature once again.
"Power Break!" The magical attack connects, the creature's strength level decreasing slightly, and Yuna aims carefully at its head, before firing another Trigger Happy attack, the bullets bashing into the Guardian Beast's skull and finally killing the fiend. As it slumps to the ground and dissolves into pyreflies, the mysterious girl drops to her knees, tired from the dancing, apparently.
(End FFX-2 theme YuRiPa Battle 2)
Walking over to the girl, I offer my hand, and she takes it, standing up. Her face remains neutral, as she studies us all. It's right at this moment that Yuna notices a sphere on a small piece of rock, behind where the Guardian Beast was standing. She runs towards it, but the girl suddenly jerks away from me, charging towards the sphere and grabbing it before Yuna can. Holding it to her closely, she steps away from us, and I decide to ask a few questions.
"Who are you?" I ask, the girl looking at me as if I'd just said I was a chocobo.
"Lenna...why?" the girl asks, obviously on guard of us.
"Just curious...are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she answers, and I decide to take a chance.
"We need that sphere. Can we have it?"
"No." The answer comes simply, quickly, and coldly. To be honest, I hadn't really expected such a cold response, but I don't really have a clue who I'm dealing with.
"Alright...can I buy it from you, then?" I ask, resorting to other methods of bargaining. I don't want to simply hurt the girl and take the sphere, that wouldn't be honorable at all.
"What are you doing?" Rikku hisses to me, stepping over to me. Turning to her, I keep my voice low.
"Trust me..." I say, turning back to Lenna.
"How much?" she asks, the same neutral expression still across her features.
"Five thousand Gil sound okay?" I ask, and she shakes her head.
"Seventy five hundred," she counters, and I think for a moment, before nodding.
"Alright. Deal." Walking over to her, I pull out my wallet, reaching inside and taking out 7500 Gil, handing it to her as she hands the sphere over. Without another word, she runs out, leaving a very confused Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and myself standing there.
"Who in the world was that?" Rikku asks me, to which I shrug.
"No idea."
"She said her name was Lenna..." Yuna says, apparently thinking out loud.
"Search me. I don't know anyone named Lenna," I reply, just as confused as everyone else. Looking at the sphere a moment, I toss it over to Yuna, who catches it. Rikku and Paine walk over to see it, and get a somewhat discouraged look upon seeing that it's only half of a sphere.
"What? It's only half a sphere?" Rikku asks, obviously annoyed.
"All that...for nothing," Paine says, shaking her head.
"Well, it can't hurt to take it with us," Rikku says, shrugging. Yuna simply pockets the sphere, looking around with a sigh.
"I can't believe how much this place has changed," Yuna remarks as we walk back towards the entrance.
"I can. A lot can change in two years. Places, people, any and everything," I tell her, following her back to the Celsius, and on to the next mission.
Yeah, I'm crazy. But anyway. The name Lenna is pronounced 'Lay-na', for reference. What's her story? You'll have to wait to find out...until then, please review!